The present invention relates generally to devices for preventing lateral movements of a motor vehicle body relative to the vehicle axle and, more particularly, to such assemblies having rocker arms pivotally mounted to the vehicle axle.
German Offenlegungschrift No. 30 39 051 shows an assembly for preventing vehicle body lateral movement according to prior teachings. In that construction, the rocker arm is mounted directly on the fixture pin, which therefore has to absorb all the support forces, stresses, and moments introduced into the rocker arm through the guide rods. As a result, the fixture pin must be correspondingly dimensioned in diameter and height.
However, it has been found to be desirable to reduce the overall height and/or weight of such assemblies in modern motor vehicles. It is also desirable to relieve the direct bearing function of the fixture pin and maintain a high load capacity in both directions of the rocking axis and also in the radial direction. Further, it is desirable to provide simplified constructions of such assemblies.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved lateral motion preventing assembly having a particularly low overall height.
Another object is the provision of a lateral motion preventing assembly having reduced stresses on the fixture pin and a high load capacity.
A further object is to provide a lateral motion preventing assembly having simplified construction and high tilting rigidity.
These and other objects of the present invention are attained by the provision of a device, for preventing lateral movements of a motor vehicle body relative to a vehicle axle, having a rocker arm rotatably mounted in a circumferential groove of a bearing body including a plurality of discs pluggable onto a fixture pin and attachable to a fixture base supporting the fixture pin. These discs conjointly form the circumferential groove by their circumferential surfaces and are mutually connectable. The rocker arm is constructed as a double lever and is pivotable by its central part about the fixture pin. Guide rods are each pivotally connected at one end to one of the rocker arm arms and, at their other ends, to the vehicle body.
The discs of the bearing body are responsible for mounting the rocker arm and securing it in the direction of the rocking axis. For these purposes, the discs are given a correspondingly favorable diameter and a low overall height. The fixture pin serves inter alia as an assembly aid for the bearing body such that the bearing body discs are mutually centered by it during assembly and can therefore be adjusted accurately into their fixing position.
The mutual securing of the bearing body discs provides self centering of the rocker arm relative to the rocking bearing surfaces formed by the circumferential groove of the bearing body and causes the fixture pin to be subject to only very low shear stresses because, due to the configuration of the bearing body, these forces are absorbed favorably and introduced into its fixture across a wide surface. Forces which are developed at the rocker arm are introduced into the wall surfaces of the circumferential groove of the bearing body as normal forces. The lines of action of these normal forces mutually intersect in each case at a point located outside the relevant disc and on the rocking axis or intersect through a region along the rocking axis. The normal forces produce a correspondingly lower specific pressure upon these wall surfaces the further apart the support poles or support points, defined by the intersections of the lines of force action, are from one another. An effective support interval is achieved by this means, so that the device according to the invention is also characterized by a high tilting regidity relative to tilting moments acting about an axis perpendicular to the axis of the fixture pin.
The circumferential groove of the bearing body can be formed circular arcuate or V-shaped in cross section. A particularly advantageous mounting can be achieved where the groove flanks are convexly curved, as viewed in cross section, and, together with a surface enlargement, permit the intersection points of the lines of force action, defined by the mutual interval of the support poles, to coincide with the rocking axis. In this case, the groove may be symmetrical or asymmetrical in cross section.
Further, the grooves can be mounted in positive engagement with the rocker arm. In this manner, the rocker arm mobility may be adjusted, where the bearing discs are mutually tensioned, by means of distance washers inserted between the discs of the bearing body. Also, where resilient elements are provided between the flanks of the groove and the opposing flanks of the rocker arm noise and vibration between the bearing body and the rocker arm may be damped.
Another advantageous assembly is achieved where the bearing body is attached to the fixture base by screws which also serve to mutually connect the discs and where the bearing body is tensioned to the fixture pin or the fixture base by means of a tensioning screw or nut screwable onto the fixture pin. In this case the mutual tensioning of the discs and their attachment can be performed in a single operation.
The present invention also presents the advantage of a possible combination of one or more guide members for the vehicle axle or the steering of a vehicle. For this purpose the latter may be mounted above and/or beneath the bearing body on the fixture pin.
Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, embodiments in accordance with the present invention.